Listen to Me
by Reina19
Summary: AU. Gray, a kendo student who lives in his grandpa's dojo in Japan, meets Claire, a fencer from France, in his high school. Will they become friends or will their swords clash? R&R
1. A Strange Encounter

**Listen to Me **

**A/N: Since there are some martial arts involved, there will be some terms that you should probably know. A **_**keikogi **_**is a martial arts training garb. And the term **_**men **_**means a lot of things. It is one of the five strikes in kendo and it also refers to the part of the kendo armor that protects the head (the masks in this story). **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.  
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**Chapter 1: A Strange Encounter**

"Haa!"

The masked swordsman, dressed in a _keikogi _and armor, performed one last strike on his opponent's head with his wooden kendo sword; a final blow that caused his target to stumble and fall onto the hardwood floor. The old inspector decided that it was over.

"Enough! Bow!"

The man on the ground, dressed similar to the masked swordsman, paused for a while as if he was expecting his opponent to help him up. But the victor did not help him out; all he did was let out a rough grunt through his protective mask.

The fallen opponent got up by himself and dusted himself off. The two swordsmen bowed in unison and went back to their original positions, next to the other students. The old inspector, with his arms behind his back, stood tall in the center of the dojo despite his short stature.

He is Saibara, the owner and head instructor of the Akiyama kendo dojo. A man who is old yet tough for his age, Saibara has been teaching students, young and old, the art of kendo for 50 years during his lifetime. He taught his only daughter when she was at a very young age, but through some unfortunate circumstances, she died when she was still in her twenties years ago.

Before she died, she had two illegitimate children who were already attending elementary school. Her partner was left to raise them for a while, but he had to go back to Dublin, his hometown in Ireland. Before leaving for his hometown, her partner talked with Saibara about the children; he could not take them both. Saibara decided that he would raise the boy, leaving the father to take his daughter with him. Since then, the old man has been teaching his grandson the art of kendo even to this day.

"Everyone, that is all for today!"

His students bowed and left the dojo together – everyone except for the winner of the last spar, as he was called out by the old man.

"Gray! Stay here."

The student named Gray went up to the old man. He took off his mask, revealing red shaggy hair, steel blue eyes, and a serious expression.

"What?"

"What do you mean _what? _ You call that a spar, boy?"

"I won didn't I? Isn't that what matters?"

The Saibara massaged his wrinkly face with his palm, a gesture that told Gray that he was tired of his ignorance. It was a gesture that Gray saw every day, and every time the old man did it, the red head's blood would boil with frustration. Saibara grunted.

"Hmph! Yesterday, I told you to focus on hitting the other strike zones. Did you do that?"

"Yeah. I did exactly what you told me."

"No, you did not! In the last spar, all you did was the _men_ strike. That's the only strike that I have ever seen you do – nothing else. You must acknowledge all the other strike zones! A great swordsman does this."

The old man let out a deep sigh.

"You still need more training."

"…Tch. Whatever."

"It's true."

"I know that! You just don't have to rub it in my face every day!"

"Well I have to, since it seems as though my words cannot get through that foolish head of yours!"

Gray always had this talk with the old man after every practice; it was almost like a routine. They argue so often that every student knows about the constant bickering between Saibara and his grandson. Tired of seeing his grandpa's angry face, Gray avoided his eyes, looking at everything but the old man. He looked at the clock.

"You know what; I don't have time for this! I've got to get to work."

"Hey! You come back here! I am not done with you!"

Gray ignored him and walked out of the main training room and went upstairs to his room on the second floor. Living in the Akiyama kendo dojo was both a curse and a blessing, he thought. Although living in the dojo has made his passion for the kendo art stronger, it also has brought him close to what he hates – his grandpa.

Gray took off his _keikogi _and quickly dressed himself in his work uniform. For his work, he has to wear a light-brown jumpsuit and a baseball cap with the word "UMA" on the front of it, which means "horse" in Japanese. Gray was not very excited to go to work, even if it meant getting paid or having time off from his grandpa. He hated his job in Harvestland.

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Clad in his work uniform, Gray sat down on his booth and measured the height for each kid that was next in line for the merry-go-round ride. One of the kids turned out to be too short.

"How old are you?"

"Twee"

Gray sighed. 'Why can't people read the rules?' he thought.

"Sorry kid, but you can't ride unless you have a chaperone. Where are your parents?"

"I donno. I'm wost. I don need dem. I wanna wide the hoswees!"

"Nope. Can't let you do that. You got to step out."

"BUT-I-WAN-HOSWEE!"

"Hey look, see this? This means you're too short. Now get out."

"HOSWEE! HOSWEE!"

If the boy wasn't a kid, then Gray would have punched him in the face. But kid or no kid, an amusement park was never a place for physical violence.

"DAMMIT KID! I'M TELLING YOU, YOU CAN'T RIDE!"

The boy's eyes grew wide. He let out a small whimper and cried loudly.

"WAAAH! YOU'RE MEAN! I HATE YOU!"

The boy ran out of the line, and the rest of the kids hesitated to go up to get measured by the intimidating 'rancher.' They all looked at Gray with horror.

"What are you kids looking at? Do you guys want to ride the merry-go-round or not!**?**"

All of the kids whimpered. They did not want to get yelled at, but they all waited in line for the ride for quite a while. The kids went on the merry-go-round platform after they were all done being measured.

Gray turned on the microphone attached to his booth and tapped it. He hated this part of the job. This is where he has to speak through the microphone and act 'in character' in front of the kids. Gray cleared his throat, only to speak through his microphone with an apathetic tone.

"Hey there kids. I'm Gray the Rancher. Are you ready to ride my horses?"

Dozens of kids all squealed in unison like mice.

"YEAHHH!"

"Ok. Pick a horse to ride on and fasten your seatbelts."

The kids all picked a horse and Gray double-checked to see if they were wearing their seatbelts. After the quick safety check, he went back to his booth and spoke through his microphone again.

"Yee-haw."

Gray pulled the lever, activating the merry-go-round ride. As the carousel horses started moving up and down while the platform rotated, the children shouted with glee.

"Yayy! Yipppiee!"

The young ride operator fixed his cap, folded his arms, and sighed.

'…I hate my job.'

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After finishing his shift, Gray stopped by at the food stand labeled 'Pierre's Gourmet.' He was still at the amusement park, much to his dismay. But he was hungry. And he needed something to eat now.

Gray took a look at the window on the food stand. No one was there.

'Isn't it still Kai's shift?' Gray thought.

Kai is Gray's best friend. He was always in the same class as him since kindergarten. Even now, as seniors, they still have the same classes together.

He was never really interested in being his friend in the first place; in fact, he was never really interested in being anyone's friend. Kai just happened to be there wherever he went. And whenever Kai tried to talk to him, Gray would either ignore him or talk to him in 5 words or less. But with Kai's perseverance, Gray began to open up to him more and more, without realizing it.

After Gray sat down on a table near the food stand, a tan young man wearing a purple bandanna on his head popped out from under the table, making the red head flinch. Gray's natural instincts came into play as he subconsciously defended himself by swinging his fist at him. The tan boy dodged quickly.

"Too slow. You have slow reflexes, man."

"Shut up."

Kai sat down on the table and took off his bandanna, showing off his short black hair. He spun it around with his index finger; the purple cloth made his head itch all day.

"You know, I've always wondered – why do we have to wear these weird get-ups?"

"I heard that this theme park was based on a video game. I guess the characters in the game wore these outfits."

"Oh, that's right. It was based off of a farming game, wasn't it? Who plays farming games nowadays?"

"Beats me."

Gray took off of his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He rested both of his elbows on the table and placed both of his hands on his face. He had a long day.

"Rough day, huh?"

"You don't even know."

"I know your grandpa's a dick."

'Everyone knows that', Gray thought.

Kai walked back to his stand and picked out two cans of soda from the cooler. He went back to the table and tossed a can to his friend.

"Here."

"Thanks."

Gray guzzled down the cold beverage and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Nothing beats drinking a cold drink after working for hours.

"So then – anything happened at work today?"

"Yeah. Yelled at a kid today. Wouldn't leave when I told him that he couldn't ride without an adult."

"Man, wasn't your supervisor around?"

"He took a quick break that time."

Kai took a gulp of his soda. "Ha, lucky. I'm kind of surprised that you got the position. You, my friend, are not exactly a people person, much less a kid person."

"It's not hard to get a job at an amusement park. Though, I regret ever applying in the first place."

"Come on, your job can't be that bad. Just be happy that you're getting paid. It's just part-time. And you're only a senior."

The two boys just sat there on the table. The sky was already dark and almost everyone was out of Harvestland. Kai stood up from his seat.

"I'm gonna grab some food for us to eat from the food stand. What do you want?"

"A burger. And some fries."

"Alright. Hold on a sec."

Kai left the table, leaving Gray to ponder by himself.

'I've always been so busy with everything lately,' he thought. 'It was always just work, school, and training.'

Gray always thought that focusing his time on a busy schedule would help him avoid appearing weak and vulnerable. He did not want to show any signs of slacking off and give his grandpa an excuse for being incompetent. If there was anything that he wanted to get rid of in the world, it would be his grandpa's constant criticisms. It seemed that no matter how hard Gray worked, all of his efforts were futile in the old man's eyes. But Gray kept trying, for he did not want to end up like his late mother.

"Yo! Time to dig in!"

Kai brought a tray of freshly-made burgers and fries and placed it on the table. The two boys wolfed down their food, and Kai decided to speak after gulping down a big portion of his burger.

"So…I was thinking. You know Karen right - the hottest chick in school?"

"…Yeah. What about her?"

"I was thinking about asking her out tomorrow."

"…"

Gray may not be experienced when it comes to dating, but even he isn't dumb enough to get a clue.

"Kai…what did you just say?"

"Huh? You heard me; I'm gonna ask Karen out tomorrow!"

"Yeah. So tell me…why does it feel like we've had this conversation before?"

Kai just scratched the back of his head and stuck out his tongue.

"Oh…well…mmm, I think I have a chance this time. I just have this feeling."

'This guy is an idiot,' Gray thought.

Karen is apparently the "hottest" girl in Gray's high school. Personally, Gray never really found her that interesting, but Kai thinks otherwise. Kai has always been head-over-heels in love with her, ever since their freshman year. And every year before his senior year, he always asks her out and fails miserably. Kai has a reputation as a ladies' man, so it would make sense for any girl to not take his offer for granted.

"You know, Karen's got to know that I'm serious about her!"

"If you really want to show that you're serious, then going on dates with other girls isn't such a good idea. That's pretty much common sense."

"Ok…then I won't date other girls this time…"

Gray sighed and threw away his garbage in a trash can near the table.

"You know, I have no idea how your head works. I've always doubted your feelings for Karen."

"Well you should know better than anyone that I'm crazy about her!"

"She's turned you down every time, Kai." Gray sighed again, thinking about why he is wasting his time talking to this idiot.

They both stood out of the table and began to walk their way to the bullet train station. Gray spoke.

"I don't get it. What's so special about her anyways? I don't see how you could like her after all of that."

Kai closed his eyes and smiled, patting his friend's back.

"Gray, Gray, Gray. Have you ever been in love?"

"What? D-don't change the subject!"

Gray was feeling uncomfortable with Kai's question.

"See Gray, if you've ever been in love, you would know why I still love her after all of that."

Kai contemplated at the thought of Karen and smiled a goofy smile. Gray looked at him strangely.

'This guy makes the dumbest faces' he thought.

"Karen is just amazing in every way. I love everything about her. The way she plays with the tips of her hair when she's confused, the way she carries herself. She is just…perfect!"

"Okay…"

Kai turned his head to look at Gray. He stared at him as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm, you know…tell ya what,"

Kai hanged his arm around his friend's neck, one of the many Kai gestures that Gray disliked.

"I'll hook you up, man."

Gray raised his eye brows and shrugged off Kai's arm around his neck. "I don't need anyone to do me favors. Especially you."

Ignoring Gray's comment, Kai looked ahead and his mouth shaped an 'o'.

"Shit! It's my stop!"

Kai did a quick playful jab on Gray's shoulder and started to take off to his train.

"Hey man, see you at school tomorrow. I'll get you a chick, I promise."

"Hey! Kai-"

Gray reached out his arm and called out to him, but the tan boy was already out of his sight. He looked around the station and took a seat at the bench nearest to him. The red head slumped over his seat and sighed.

'School tomorrow? Fuck…'

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The teacher called out each of his students in a clear and mellow voice.

"Akari?"

"Here!"

"Kurt?"

"Here."

Next to the back window was a tired-looking Gray dressed in his school uniform. The young student stayed up all night doing his homework. He looked out the window pensively, resting his head on his right fist.

In front of Gray was Kai, who did not look tired at all. He was full of energy and a bit jittery; knowing that today's the day he will ask Karen out.

After the young teacher paused to let out a cough, a girl with long blonde hair and clear blue eyes walked inside the classroom. The teacher looked at her and smiled. He offered her a chair that was next to his desk and continued on with the roll call. After he was finished, the teacher looked at the blonde girl and the girl stood up. She walked up in front of the class and the teacher cleared his throat.

"Class, I would like to introduce to you a new student. This is Claire Belgarde. She is an exchange student from France."

The new student bowed and smiled.

Whispers were heard across the room. Some of the male students were ogling at her while some of the girls shot her dirty looks.

Kai turned around and nudged at Gray with his elbow. He whispered.

"Yo man, that new girl – seriously cute. Try asking her out."

Gray rolled his eyes at him and continued looking outside the window.

The teacher scanned the room to find an empty seat for Claire to sit in. He spotted an empty seat near the back of the room. It was next to Gray's. The teacher pointed at it.

"Claire. Please sit over there, next to Gray."

The new student walked gracefully towards the empty seat. Kai turned around again, raised one eyebrow and smiled at the annoyed red head.

"You are so lucky."

Gray just sneered at him.

The new girl took her seat and the students next to her greeted her. She smiled at them and then turned her head to look at Gray, who was still looking out the window. Kai turned around counter-clockwise and whispered.

"Dude, she's looking at you."

Gray whispered through clenched teeth. "Shut up and turn around."

The tired student stopped looking at the window and turned his head slightly to take a glance at the new girl. She was smiling at him. Gray quickly looked away and stared outside the window.

'Why is that girl staring at me?' He thought.

The girl's smile faltered slightly when he looked away. She decided to turn her attention to the teacher and focus on the lecture that was going on during class.

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When class was over, the students went off their separate ways. Gray headed for the stairs and Kai caught up to him. Gray sighed.

"Why are you following me? Don't you have a swim club meeting to run?"

"I rescheduled it." Kai smiled.

"Why? So you could bother me?"

"No, man. Remember? Karen?"

'Oh, that's right' Gray thought.

Kai lightly jabbed his friend's shoulder.

"So, how about that new girl?"

"Not interested."

"Come on man! She's perfect for you! She has that whole 'I want you to carry me over to the threshold' kind of look."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kai clasped his hands together and imitated a girly voice.

"Oh Gray, please protect me. I'm so helpless; I need a strong man like you."

He looked at Gray while batting his eyelashes in a feminine manner. The annoyed student swung at him, but Kai dodged.

"Haha. Anyways, I'm gonna go on ahead now and ask Karen. Wish me luck, man!"

"Right. Whatever."

Kai dashed down the stairs with determination and Gray sighed.

'The poor fool.' He thought.

Gray continued walking down the stairs, placing his hand in his pockets. He noticed something missing. It was his wallet.

'Dammit, I left it in my locker.'

Gray went back up the stairs, heading for his locker. He abruptly stopped when he caught a glimpse of a girl with familiar blonde hair from afar.

"Huh?"

It was the new girl. Next to the girl was a girl with a brown pigtail and freckles.

Gray hid himself near the stairs and took a peek. It looks like there's some kind of commotion going on near the lockers.

"So you think that you could just waltz in here and steal glances from my guy, new girl!" The freckle-specked girl glared at Claire.

The blonde girl just stood quietly and stared at her.

"Don't look at me as if you're innocent! Just what's so special about you anyways?"

The new student ignored her, turning her attention to the blue notebook she was holding. She opened it, took out a pen, and began writing. Enraged, the pigtailed girl grabbed her notebook and slammed it onto the ground. Claire managed to clench onto the piece of paper she was writing on before the girl grabbed the notebook. The girl pushed her onto the lockers.

"Rrr…don't ignore me! I'm talking to you!"

Gray felt the need to go up and help the new girl out. But as he continued watching, it appears that she did not need any help.

Claire glared back at the girl. She crumpled her piece of paper into a ball and threw at her face. This infuriated the pigtailed girl even more.

"That's it!"

The pigtailed girl made an attempt to slap her, but Claire quickly raised her hand to block it. Claire then slapped her in return. The pigtailed girl rubbed her cheek.

"You bitch!"

The girl tried to slap her again, but Claire ducked to pick up her notebook. The girl made an attempt to kick the blonde girl while she was on the ground, but Claire caught her kicking foot and tripped her other leg, making the pigtailed girl fall onto the ground.

The blonde girl walked off, heading towards the end of the hallway, where Gray stood and watched the whole scene. He was dumbstruck.

'W-what the hell was that?' he thought.

Claire stopped at her tracks when she saw Gray near the stairs. Their eyes met. She just stared at him, which made him flush a bit. It was quiet for a while, but the young man scratched his head and decided to speak.

"W-what? Can I…help you?"

The girl just shook her head. She walked past him and quickly went down the stairs.

Gray then looked over where the scene took place. The girl was still lying on the floor. He decided to go up to the pigtailed girl and help her up. It wasn't right to leave a girl by herself like that.

"You okay?"

She rubbed her head.

"Yeah. Damn that girl! I just...rrgh!"

She stormed off and went back inside the classroom she came from.

Gray decided to leave the hallway, but stopped when he noticed a crumpled ball of paper. It was the paper Claire was writing on. Curious, Gray picked it up and unraveled it.

It seems that she wrote only two words: 'fuck off.'

Gray stared at the end of the hallway, where Claire took off.

'Strange girl…'


	2. A Silent Greeting

**A/N: Just for you to get an idea on how the school uniforms look like, the girls have to wear blue and white Japanese sailor outfits. The boys have to wear a basic black **_**gakuran. **_**You can google the terms if you like. Also, a **_**kendoka**_** is one who practices kendo.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.  
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**Chapter 2: A Silent Greeting  
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"_Sorry, Kai. We're just…never meant to be."_

"_B-but…I love you!"_

"_Don't say that! You're lying!"_

"_Look, I'm telling you…there's no one else I would rather be with. You're the only one for me."_

"_Right...whatever. You just…ugh, you just don't listen, do you!__**?**_

_Karen turned around and headed for the school exit. _

"_Karen! Wait!"_

_The brunette stopped, but did not turn around to face him. The boy spoke._

"_Karen…I…what can I do to ever convince you?"_

"…_Nothing. Just forget about me!"_

_The girl tried to continue her way to the exit but was stopped again; this time, however, she was stopped by Kai's hand on her shoulder. His angry tone reached through her delicate ears._

"_I can't and I won't!"_

"_Kai…"_

"_I just don't get it Karen; we used to be good friends during freshman year and now, you're just becoming colder and colder! Why couldn't you have just taken the risk back then!**?** Didn't you love me too? If you hated me, you could have just said so!"_

"_I never hated you. And I still don't."_

"_Then what's holding you back?"_

"…"

"_Karen-"_

_The girl quickly turned around and faced him. She looked at him with her shining emerald eyes._

"_I'm seeing someone."_

"…_What?"_

"_I…Jack and I are…going out."  
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"…And that's what happened with me and Karen…"

After telling Gray about the unfortunate events that happened to him at school yesterday, Kai sighed and rested his head on top of the lunch table in defeat. Gray folded his arms and looked at Kai sternly.

"What did I tell you?"

Kai banged his head repeatedly on the table. The poor guy has been turned down for 4 years in a row, and to him, this was the worst. Kai was not the type to wallow in sadness for a long time, so in an attempt to change the subject, he decided to bring up an unwanted topic hoping that annoying his friend would cheer him up.

"So, did you ask Claire out yet?"

As he predicted, Gray gave him a look that clearly showed that he was irked by the subject that was being brought up.

"Forget it. I already told you-"

"I'm not interested. Right." Kai said, mocking his friend.

Gray took a bite out of his sandwich and Kai just stared at his own lunch, leaving it untouched. After the Karen incident, he lost his appetite for food. He brought his head back down to reunite with the lunch table and let out a sigh, his mind back in depression mode.

"Ohh...what did I do to ever deserve this? Karen..."

Kai rested his elbow on the table, supporting his head with his right hand. He needed something to do to keep his mind off of Karen.

He looked around for any ideas and noticed a bulletin board near their table. There was a flyer that caught his eye:

'Men's Fencing Club. Please join!'

A light bulb flashed in Kai's head.

"Hey, Gray. Let's make a bet."

The red head gulped down the last piece of his sandwich.

"What's your game?"

The tan boy rubbed his chin.

"I'll pick a guy for you to spar with. If you win, I'll stop bugging you during history class and give you a free meal every time you stop by my food stand at Harvestland."

"Alright. Sounds good."

"But if you lose…"

Gray raised his eyebrow and let out a small chuckle. Lose? Gray defeated every guy he sparred with in his kendo team. He's even the team captain.

"Heh…that won't happen. Deal."

Kai smiled and stood up from the table. He walked behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Good! Because if you lose, I'll set you up on a date with Claire!"

The red head turned around and snapped. "What**!**?"

"Yup. But seeing as Mr. Captain is so confident that he would win, I guess that doesn't matter does it?"

"No! You can't do tha-"

"Nope! Sorry bud! If you cancel the deal, I automatically win!"

"Kai!"

The tan boy walked off with a triumphant grin. To think a simple bet would cheer the boy right back up.

But deep down, he was not feeling happy at all. His heart was torn apart too many times by the same girl. And he never felt more hurt any other year.

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After they were done with school the next day, Gray followed his friend in the hallway near the gym. Kai stopped next to a door where you could hear the distant sounds of clashing metal.

"The guy's in here."

Kai opened the door to reveal groups of masked swordsmen moving swiftly with their thin swords. Gray looked around the room with a look of obscurity.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's the men's fencing club."

"I know that! I thought you were going to find me a sparring partner! A _kendo_ sparring partner!"

"I didn't say _kendo_, did I?"

"…I hate you."

Gray folded his arms and watched the fencers display their art. 'What is Kai thinking, putting me up against a fencer?' he thought. He never fought with anyone who practiced a different form of sword-fighting. Gray wasn't sure if he wanted to go along with Kai's condition, but if he did not go along with it, then he has to go on a date with Claire. He also remembered something his grandpa said some years ago:

'A great _kendoka _not only studies kendo but other types of sword-fighting.'

'Maybe this match will make me a better swordsman.' He thought. Gray looked at Kai and spoke.

"…So, where's the guy?"

Kai scanned the room to find the fastest fencer he sees.

'Gray is slow, so I gotta find someone fast…'

One fencer stood out from the bunch, displaying quick thrusts and swift movements. He was incredibly fast. A wide grin was plastered on Kai's face as he watched the fencer.

"Heh heh. That guy."

Gray raised his eyebrows. "That guy? He looks like a twig."

"Well, that's my pick. So, are we gonna do this or what?"

"…Right."

Kai walked up to the fencer as he waved at him to catch his attention.

"Hey, you! Hi! Can I talk to you for a sec?"

The fencer stopped what he was doing.

"So me and my friend over there made this bet and I need like a good sparring partner for him. Could you be his partner?"

The masked fencer looked at Kai and then looked at Gray. He shrugged and continued practicing his thrusts. Kai tried to convince him again.

"Look, I need someone good. Gray's captain of the kendo team and if I don't have anyone that could beat him, then he'll never go on a date with this new chick at school. So could you please do this for me? You look like the best one here."

The fencer did one more thrust and stopped moving. He tapped his covered chin with his free hand as if he was thinking about something. The fencer then turned to look at Kai and nodded a 'yes'. Kai smiled.

"Alright! Thanks man! Meet us at the kendo room in about 20 minutes, ok?"

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Gray was waiting for his opponent to arrive. He was already dressed in his gear. While waiting for the fencer, the swordsman practiced his strikes on a dummy. Each strike was done with great precision and strength. Gray took off his _men _and wiped off the sweat on his head.

'Where the hell is that fencer?' he thought.

Gray placed his protective mask back on his head and continued practicing on the dummy. Coming into the room was Rick, a member of the school's kendo team. Although he is the weakest one in the team, Rick is very knowledgeable about the sport, which would make him a great spectator for the match that was about to take place.

"Hey Gray! And…_Kai_." The boy with glasses said the latter in a spiteful tone.

Rick always hated Kai for reasons unknown. Was it because he was the school's flirt? Was it because he always out-swims him during PE? Or was it because he was tan? His hatred for Kai was never really understood.

"Hey man. Just so you know, I only called you in here because Gray told me you were the brains in the team."

Rick fixed his glasses and glared at the tan boy.

"_I_ only came here because I heard that Gray was going up against a fencer. This would be a great opportunity to witness two different types of sword-fighting in the same match."

"Ha, you're such a nerd."

"Shut up."

The person that they have all been waiting entered the room. He was still dressed in his fencing gear. He placed his equipment bag on a nearby bench and went up next to Gray, showing that he was confident and ready for the match. Rick smiled at them.

"Let's get started."

The boy with the glasses explained the two swordsmen the rules of the match. In this match, whoever deals the most strikes on their opponent within the time limit wins. The two swordsmen stood in front of each other in the center of the room, both of them with their hands gripped tightly on their weapons. Rick cleared his throat.

"Alright, let the match begin!"

Despite the masks that covered their faces, you could tell that the two swordsmen eyed each other intensely without falter. Gray decided to make the first move.

"Haa!"

He aimed for the head area but missed.

'What?'

The fencer did a quick thrust, hitting Gray's armored shoulder. On the corner of his eye, the kendo student saw Rick hold up a red flag, meaning that the fencer scored a point.

'Damn' he thought.

Gray went for another strike, this time, aiming the shoulder. The fencer dodged to his side and dealt a strike on the _kendoka's_ right arm. Another red flag was raised up.

'Rggh…this guy is too fast.'

At this point, Gray's frustration rose as the timer ticked. He needed to strike him three times without being hit before time runs out, or he'll lose.

'This guy…I'll just wait for him to come at me.'

His eyes were even more focused on the fencer. He followed his swift movements as he slowly moved closer without striking. The fencer quickly moved in to deal another strike but missed, leaving a wide opening for Gray to deal his own strike. His strike hit the fencer on his right side and Rick brought up a green flag.

'Got him.'

On the corner of his eye, he looked at the timer.

'Just two more strikes without getting hit. I only have time for two more…'

The fencer stepped back a bit, preparing for another strike. Gray was getting ready to brace himself.

'Focus…'

The fencer move swiftly to deal two quick thrusts. Both of the thrusts were batted away by Gray's sword. The young _kendoka_ then dealt a strike of his own, hitting the fencer's right shoulder hard. Another green flag was brought up.

'One more…and I win.'

The clock was ticking. Four seconds were left.

The fencer moved forward with great agility. Gray stepped back to keep his guard up.

Three seconds.

Blindingly fast thrusts were being thrown at Gray, who dodged them all by backing away. He defended himself with his kendo sword.

Two.

Gray went for two strikes but the fencer dodged both.

One.

Gray found an opening.

'Looks like I got you.'

He moved in on the last second to deal a final _men_ strike. However, at the same time, the fencer was moving in to deal a final strike of his own.

Zero.

Both of their strikes connected, but the fencer was knocked down to the floor from the _kendoka's_ blow. Gray felt that he won, but he knew that the winner of the match was determine by whoever dealt the most hits within the time limit. He felt the fencer's strike on his right trunk around the same time his _men_ strike connected. Was it a tie? Or did one of them hit the other first?

"Stop! Match is set!"

Kai went up to Rick. He was anxious to know the results.

"So, what's the score?"

Rick pushed up his glasses and folded his arms, thinking over his judgment. He nodded to himself.

"It's…a tie."

"A tie?"

Kai grabbed the front of Rick's shirt to pull him up face-to-face.

"Are you shitting me? That was so not a tie! The fencer dude hit him first!"

"It was! They both hit each other at the same time! I'm sure I'm right!"

"No, you're wrong!"

"I'm right!"

While the two boys were fighting, Gray stared at the fencer on the ground. Although he managed to knock him down, he took in many hits from the fencer early in the match. He admitted that he had trouble striking him and keeping up with him. Whether the match was a tie or not, Gray was not sure. But what he was sure of was that he has never fought a match as good as this one.

Every time Gray knocks down his opponents after a match, he never helps them up off the floor. For some reason, he always thought that helping them up would make their loss more humiliating. But in this case, he understood what his grandpa has been telling him all this time. Helping your opponent is not only a way of showing good sportsmanship, but a way of showing respect towards your opponent. He walked up to the fencer, who was rubbing his injured shoulder with his hand. Gray took off his _men _and helped his opponent off the floor.

"Hey. Uh, sorry for hitting you so hard."

The fencer moved to the bench and sat down. Gray noticed his injured opponent rubbing his shoulder again, which made the kendo student feel a little guilty. Gray decided to go over to him, feeling as if he needed to explain himself.

"My stupid friend over there…we made a bet. I didn't want to lose."

The fencer just sat there, quiet. Gray sat down next to him, scratched his head and continued.

"He just wouldn't stop bugging me about this girl I sit next to in my history class. He was going to set me up on a date with her if I lose."

The fencer stared at him for a while. He grabbed his bag that was next to him on the bench and pulled out what looks like a blue notebook.

'That notebook…I've seen it before…' Gray thought.

The fencer opened the notebook and wrote a message on it with his pen. He slid it on the bench towards Gray to show him what he wrote.

'_This girl you're talking about - you mean…me?'_

The fencer took off his…or her…sabre mask to reveal long, golden hair. The two boys in the back stopped their quarreling when they looked at the fencer with shock; Kai let go of Rick's shirt and Rick fixed his glasses to make sure he was seeing correctly. To Gray's utter shock and disbelief, the swift swordsman that he fought all this time was none other than Claire.

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait, what**!**? You're…I…uh…"

The blonde girl giggled quietly and continued writing on her notebook.

'_You're pretty strong. Don't worry, I'm fine.'_

"But I thought…men's fencing…you…"

'_I was practicing with the guys. It's sad that there's no fencing club for girls :('_

The boy just sat there with a loss for words. He definitely did not expect himself to end up fighting a girl. To think that he almost lost to her! The idea of that was absurd to him. Claire tilted her head to the side, as she waited for Gray to respond. She decided to write again.

'_So Gray, you're captain of the kendo team in school? Nice :) '_

Gray scratched his head, his face slightly red with embarrassment.

"Yeah. Uh listen…I…gotta go."

The boy got off the bench and walked out the room, leaving two dumbfounded boys and a confused Claire by themselves. To him, it was the only way to get out of that awkward situation.

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After changing back to his school uniform, Gray went on his way to the dojo. Rows of trees were lined up along the pathway, their autumn leaves scattered on the ground. The young student continued walking along the pathway and noticed that someone was walking behind him when he heard footsteps.

'Someone's following me?' He thought.

The person behind him playfully skipped to the front of Gray and lightly shoved a notebook in front of his face to stop him from walking. She shot him a bright smile. Written on the notebook was a simple greeting:

'_Hi :)'_

Gray pushed away the notebook in front of him and walked past her. If anyone, especially Kai, saw him with Claire…well, that's something that Gray wanted to avoid as much as possible.

One thing that puzzled him was why she is walking the same path as him. The pathway only leads to his dojo and nothing else.

The girl went in front of him again, showing him a new message on her notebook.

'_Why are you avoiding me?'_

The boy folded his arms and avoided her eyes.

"I don't want people to look at us and get the wrong idea."

Claire wrote again.

'_Is this about your friend's betting game? Why should you worry about what he thinks?'_

"It's not that, just…just stop following me."

'_I'm not following you. You just happen to be walking on the same path as me.'_

"Right. Whatever."

The annoyed student walked past her and headed towards the foot of the dojo's stair entrance. Claire tried to catch his attention numerous times along the way, but the boy ignored all of her attempts as he kept walking past her every time she went in front of him.

Claire angrily wrote on her notebook one last time, leaving the last word in dark ink. She ripped the piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at the back of his head.

Gray turned around to see a frustrated Claire. He scanned the ground to find whatever she threw at him. He found the ball of paper, picked it up and read it.

'_I'm just trying to be friends with you. **Jerk!**__'_

The girl quietly stormed off. She was running up the stairs, with both hands balled into fists. Gray watched her with a confused look and soon followed her up the stairs.

"Hey, wait up!"

'Why is she running up to the dojo? What business does she have up there?' He thought.

When Gray finally reached the top, he paused to catch his breath. After recollecting himself, he scanned around the place to find Claire. He found her handing a letter to his grandpa in front of the main training room's entrance.

Gray walked up to them and Saibara looked at Claire after finishing the letter.

"Are you sure, young lady? The training is very rigorous."

Claire smiled and nodded with reassurance. The old man paused to contemplate on her request as he rubbed his chin. He nodded at her in return.

"Very well."

Saibara turned to see his grandson, who watched the two in confusion.

"Ah, Gray. You are here. There is something I must tell you both."

The two students turned their attention to the old man.

"Young lady, have you met this boy before?"

Claire looked at Gray and nodded her head at Saibara.

"Good. This boy here is my grandson. He will be showing you your new room soon."

The girl blinked at Gray twice, her eyes slightly wide. She had no idea that he was his grandson. Gray looked at his grandpa, puzzled.

"Gramps, what's going on?"

"Claire will be staying at our dojo as a live-in trainee. She will be staying at the room next to yours."

At the same time, the young students turned their heads to look at each other with shock. Gray was in disbelief.

"You don't mean that Claire and I are-"

"Yes. You two will be living together."

A strict old man, a strong and grumpy teenage boy, and now a new member of the Akiyama household - a spunky mute girl that can kick your ass. From that moment on, Gray's life was taking in a new and unexpected turn; for better or for worse.

**Thanks for the reviews! :D**


	3. Pickled Turnips

**A/N: There will be more character appearances coming along the way. You will see that in this chapter, there is a small time-skip. My heads spinning right now.  
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**Butterfree: Thank you for the long and thoughtful review! There's a lot of Graire fanfics out there that I love, and my main goal is to provide something a bit different. I'm glad that you enjoy reading it so far. I love writing this story and hopefully my motivation doesn't turn sour.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon  
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**Chapter 3: Pickled Turnips**

*Briiing* *Briiing*

"Uhnn…who the hell is texting me this early?" Gray groaned.

Still lying on his bed, the boy lazily grabbed his cell phone from his night stand. He flipped his phone to see a message display: 1 message from Claire.

'_Wake up Gray! We need 2 go 2 the groceries!'_

The boy placed his free hand on his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair from front to back. He let out a sigh and texted her back.

'Right now?'

Gray got off from his bed and stretched. He was told beforehand by his grandpa that he needed to get the groceries on Sunday. With Claire.

His phone vibrated again – a new message.

'_Yes. Come out of your room. I have something 4 U :)'_

He raised his eyebrows. 'What could she possibly have for me?' he thought.

The boy quickly put on his sweat pants and slid his screen door open. He looked to his left and to his right.

'Hm? Where is she?'

He walked towards her room, checking to see if she was there.

"Hey, are you in there?"

Her door did not open.

'Guess not.'

Gray turned around. Suddenly, a broomstick was being swung at him. It hit him on his right shoulder.

"Ow."

The attacker smiled and made a victory sign. Gray folded his arms.

"And what was _that_ for?"

Claire stuck out her tongue and brought up in front of him a steel bucket and a broom.

"Let me guess, he wants us to clean first?"

The girl smiled and nodded. Gray sighed.

It's been about a month since Claire's move-in and Gray could not stand having her around, mostly because of the rumors that were going around in school. Almost everyone knew that they were living together, and students were already assuming that they were a couple.

'Stupid Kai.' Gray thought as he scrubbed the floor.

But even without Kai's slip-up, people would have already made that assumption just by looking at them. Every school day, Gray has to walk with Claire to school and back. Since Claire is a live-in trainee in the dojo, Saibara takes full responsibility with whatever happens to her, so he forces his grandson to watch over her whenever she goes out.

Everywhere she goes, he goes (except for private places, like the bathroom of course). Luckily for Gray, that was not too hard. Like him, Claire is now a kendo student at the dojo, so the two of them practice with the other kendo students the same time afterschool. Claire got a job as a mascot in Harvestland, and so both of them go to work together since they somehow got the same work hours and days. Their daily schedule was pretty much the same.

But Gray did not ask for any of this. He wanted to continue going to work and school normally, but he was stuck being Claire's bodyguard. And people were talking about them, much to his dislike.

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There were rows and rows of vegetables neatly lined up on the aisle stalls. Gray was never really fond of vegetables but there was one vegetable in particular that he absolutely hated, and it was in the grocery list.

'Ugh…turnips.'

He took some turnips off the stall, picking up each of them out as if he was handling garbage, and quickly placed them in a plastic bag.

Meanwhile, Claire went to the dairy section to search for some milk.

'Hm, 2% reduced fat…where are you?'

She looked up the stall and found the milk, but she had to go on her toes to reach for it.

'Almost there…'

Just when she was about to get it, a lean man with short, black hair grabbed it first. Claire looked at the man and he smiled at her.

"Is this what you need?" he said in a mellow voice.

The girl gave him a shy smile and nodded. The man was quite attractive. He was wearing a brown vest, a white collared shirt, and green tailored pants. He was older than Claire, but he looked pretty young. The young man gave her the milk and spoke to her.

"Milk is really good for you. You look like you take care of yourself well."

Claire smiled and nodded. She had a contagious smile that people can't help but smile back at her. It did not seem to have an effect on Gray, however. The young man grinned at her and held out his hand.

"My name is Trent. I'm a college student at Ivy University. I'm studying to become a doctor. What's your name?"

'Wow...Ivy U? That's a prestigious school.' she thought. 'Smart..._and_ handsome.'

The girl quickly took out her blue notebook from her shoulder bag and wrote him a message.

'_Claire. I'm studying abroad, from France.'_

After Gray was done picking the vegetables, he decided to go over to the dairy section. When he was walking over there, he suddenly stopped when he caught the two smiling at each other.

'Who the hell is that guy?' He thought.

The boy stared at Trent from afar. There was something about the guy that he did not like, but he could not quite put his finger on it. Gray went over there, catching the attention of the girl, and placed the vegetables in the basket. He folded his arms and looked at the young man with a strange, disapproving glare. Even though he is younger than Trent, Gray is still quite tall for his age; he is about an inch taller than him.

Trent had a confused look on his face. The two have never met each other before and yet Gray is staring at him like he is his enemy. But despite the look Gray was giving him, the college student held out his own hand in a friendly manner.

"My name is Trent. Nice to meet you…"

"Gray." He said coldly, without even bothering to shake the man's hand.

The pleasant atmosphere that Claire was experiencing a while ago quickly turned awkward. She was not pleased with how Gray was acting with her new friend. The girl wrote on her notebook, giving Trent a final message.

'_Sorry. We have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Trent :)'_

The college student smiled at her and gave her an understanding nod.

"It was nice to meeting you too, Claire."

Claire waved goodbye at her friend and picked up her basket. She grabbed Gray's sleeve, pulling him out of the young man's sight. When they reached the line, Gray broke free from her grasp.

"You don't need to pull me away like that!" He hissed.

The girl slapped his arm and wrote on her notebook furiously.

'_What the hell is wrong with you? Why were you acting like that?'_

Gray took the basket from her arm and placed it on the conveyor belt.

"I don't trust him." he said bluntly.

The girl placed both of her hands on her hips and glared at him. She wrote again.

'_You shouldn't be so quick to judge.'_

"I could say the same to you."

The cashier cleared his throat. Claire took out her wallet and placed her notebook in her bag, unintentionally letting it stick out. Gray noticed a set of numbers that was circled on the notebook, but he couldn't quite make out what it meant. Curious, he took it out of her bag without her noticing and read it: Trent 612-7564.

Just as he suspected; it was the guy's number.

"Why do you have his number?" He asked.

She snatched the notebook out of his hands and wrote.

'_I like him. He seems nice. Why, you're jealous?'_

"N-no. I just don't think that you should be meeting random guys like that. Especially him."

Gray took the bags of groceries and the two went outside the store. Claire was clearly infuriated.

'Stupid Gray. Why does he have to act so unfriendly towards people?' the girl thought. 'I just want to make friends here.'

Friends…they are all she ever wanted ever since she started high school. Back in France, she would always get picked on by her classmates after a terrible incident caused her to become mute. And she hated it. It was then that she discovered fencing. For some reason, she was drawn to the sport as if it was her calling. Lucky for her, she was a natural. Claire decided herself that she would pursue it, hoping that it would make her stronger. Whenever anyone would mess with her, she would be able to defend herself. But the more she defended herself, the more people stayed away from her. Claire did not want that, but she knew in her heart that she would rather fight than to cry in a corner. She did not want to appear weak. She did not want to appear helpless. And most of all, she did not want anyone's pity.

While they were on their way back to the dojo, Claire was texting on her phone.

"Who're you texting to, your _boyfriend_?" Gray scoffed.

When she was done with her text, the girl stuck out her tongue at him, threw her phone into her bag, and stormed off. The boy ran, trying to catch up to her.

"Hey!"

Just then, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pants pocket. He took it out as he ran and flipped it. There was one message from Claire:

'_I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need you to follow me anymore and ruin things!'_

He put it back in his pocket and continued running as he thought of her words.

'It's not like I have a choice. Gramps wants me to look after you...'

But even if Gray had a choice, he would have still chosen to act the way he did in the grocery store. There was just something about the guy that he did not like…

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When the two have reached the dojo, Saibara was ready to cook lunch. He prepared a simple meal consisting of grilled fish, rice, and pickled turnips. All three of them sat down on the floor around a low table when the food was set and ready. As they were quietly eating their fill, Saibara decided to talk to Claire after noticing that his grandson has not touched some of his food.

"Ah, you know, ever since Gray was a little boy I've always told him to eat his turnips. Even until now, he still refuses to eat them."

"Gramps…" the boy muttered with annoyance. He was obviously embarrassed.

Claire covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a quiet laugh. It was an unnecessary gesture, seeing as how not a sound could be heard from her mouth. The old man strayed from his topic and decided to talk to Claire about fencing.

"Fencing is a difficult art. The fact that you practice both kendo and fencing is truly remarkable, Claire."

The girl smiled and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. Gray, on the other hand, let out an irritated grunt as he quietly ate his food. Saibara continued to talk.

"I've always told Gray to study other types of sword art. A great swordsman would do that, no?"

The boy was clearly annoyed by his grandpa's ramblings.

'Ugh, he always brings me up in _every_ conversation. "I've always told Gray" this. "If only Gray did" that. So annoying.' He thought. 'And he says the same things over and over again like a broken record.'

Gray picked up his empty dishes and stood up from the table. He went up to the kitchen sink and washed his plate and bowl. He placed the clean dishes aside and started to leave the room.

"I'm going to the library." He said as he left.

Claire quickly stood up and bowed at the old man, thanking him for the meal. She washed her dishes and left to follow Gray, leaving Saibara by himself.

"No one finished the turnips..." The old man sighed as he took the leftover pickled dishes and placed them on his own plate.

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On his way to the library, Gray noticed an annoying blonde girl following him. He sighed.

'Earlier ago, she said that she doesn't want me to follow her and now here she is, following _me_. This girl just doesn't make sense…'

Claire caught up and walked beside him. She held a school bag on her side which carried her school supplies, booklets, and homework. With her free hand, she texted Gray a message.

'_I love the library! You should have told me beforehand :('_

The boy had an annoyed look in his face. "I was planning to go there alone."

She sent him another message. _'That wouldn't be fun. We should study together! :)'_

"No." He said bluntly.

'She just doesn't get it.' Gray sighed. The boy wanted to have time off and do at least one thing alone, without Claire around. If she stayed at the dojo and he went out, then that would be fine by Saibara. But now that she's out, well…he's stuck with her. And that was definitely not what he wanted, especially when he was going to library. Gray originally planned to go there alone not just to stay away from Claire, or to study, but for another reason.

The two high school students went inside the library, triggering the sound of bells when they opened the old-fashioned door. A young girl with dark hair and glasses sitting behind the reception desk quickly turned to look at them as soon as she heard the bells. She pushed up her glasses and greeted them.

"Hi Gray." She smiled.

"Hey Mary." Gray said, his face slightly flushed with red.

Claire looked at the boy with a confused look. 'He knows this girl? I've never seen her before.' She thought.

Mary was Gray's classmate in his high school. The two have been friends since they were sophomores, but this year, Mary was forced by her mother to move to an all-girls private school. Because of that, they have not been seeing each other too often, and the only time they ever meet is in the library. But he always took the time to call and text her whenever he was not busy.

Gray and Claire both walked towards the reception desk. The young librarian smiled at Gray and turned her attention to Claire.

"Ah, H-hi. Are you a friend of Gray?" She asked shyly.

Claire smiled and nodded a 'yes' but the boy responded otherwise.

"She's not really…well, she's my grandpa's student." Gray answered defensively.

"I see. It's nice to meet you, Claire." Mary bowed.

Claire smiled at her and went off to sit at a table that she can study on while Gray stayed at the reception desk, conversing with his friend. Claire took out her booklets from her bag and began studying, but as she kept trying to read her book, she was quickly being bothered by the two over at the desk. She glanced at them and saw that they were smiling at each other as they talked, which, to her, was really strange.

'Gray is smiling? I've never seen him smile…' She thought.

For some reason, watching the two of them talking to each other slightly irritated her.

'Whenever he talks to _me,_ he only makes his grumpy face. Why can't he smile at me like that?'

She folded her arms and contemplated as she looked away from the two.

'Maybe he really likes that girl.'

Claire shook her head. 'Whatever.'

She stood up from her chair and quietly walked towards the bookshelves without paying attention to where she is going.

'He's an asshole. Why should I car-'

Her thoughts were disrupted when she ran into something hard.

"Are you okay?"

Claire looked up and blushed immediately after she saw who she ran into. It was Trent.

She nodded shyly and Trent placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Haha, I didn't expect to bump into you here, Claire." He laughed. "Sorry about that."

Her hands were behind her back and she was looking around nervously as she tried to regain her composure. The college student smiled.

"So what brings you here? Are you studying?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"Ah, that's good. I came here to study as well. Would you like me to study with you?"

Claire thought of his offer. 'I wanted to study here with Gray, but since he's _occupied_…humph. Forget him! This guy is much nicer.'

She nodded a 'yes' at him and the two walked to her study table.

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Meanwhile, Mary brought up Claire in her discussion with Gray.

"So is there something I should know about Claire?" she asked him.

"Other than the fact that she is annoying, not really." He replied.

"She seems like a nice person, but I don't believe I've seen anyone like her around here. She has blonde hair and blue eyes…a foreign exchange student perhaps?"

"Yeah…she moved into my school from France."

"My, how interesting! But how did she end up being your grandfather's student?"

"Well…"

Gray did not want to tell her about Claire's move-in, but he wanted to be honest with Mary at all times. He never lied to her, for as long as he could remember. And if he did, well, that would probably screw the trust between them.

"She…came into the dojo one day and asked if she could stay at the dojo as a live-in trainee. So now she stays over there as a kendo student."

"I see. So now you two are living together?"

Gray scratched his head nervously. "Yeah, b-but it's not like that. You know, she's just staying there because she couldn't find a good place to stay. And well, she wanted a place where she could practice fencing and stuff…"

"Well that seems reasonable of her. So she fences as well? That's wonderful! I would love the chance to get to know her personally. She seems like a very interesting person!"

"She's not exactly in good terms with some of the girls in school." Gray said as he thought about it. "They kind of pick on her because she…well…can't talk."

Mary let out a small gasp. "So she is...mute?"

"Uh, yeah…"

Just then, Gray noticed from the corner of his eye that Claire was sitting on the table studying, not alone, but with someone else. And he did not like what he was seeing.

'_That_ guy…what's _he_ doing here?'

Claire turned to glance at Gray, their eyes meeting for a while. She gave him a spiteful look, stuck out her tongue at him, and turned her attention to Trent, who was helping her with her homework.

'What was that for?' Gray thought.

Trent took a glance at Gray and Mary and smiled at them. The boy, for some odd reason, did not like him one bit. There was not anything you could call wrong about the college guy; like Claire said, he seems nice. It's just something about him…something about the way he smiles at Claire…it bothered him.

But then there was one thing that Gray remembered; Claire's text back when they were just outside the grocery store.

'_I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need you to follow me around anymore and ruin things!'_

'_Ruin_ things, huh?' he thought. 'Whatever. I don't care what happens to her.'

It was not really Gray's wish to look after Claire in the first place. The only reason why he does so is because of his grandpa. But looking after her wherever she goes? It was too much for him. And he hated being forced to stick with her.

'Forget what gramps says, if she can look after herself, then that's fine by me. I'm tired of looking after her anyways.' he thought.

Mary waved her hand in front for Gray's face to catch his attention.

"Hello? Gray? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Huh? Oh. Y-yeah..." It seems that he was so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot that he was talking to Mary.

"Is something bothering you? You were staring at Trent for quite a while."

"Ah, it's nothing really. Wait, how do _you_ know Trent?"

"Oh, h-he is just a regular customer. He comes to the library quite often. You know him too?"

"Not exactly. Claire met him when we were at the grocery store." Gray said. He did not really want to talk about him with Mary, but he just wanted to make sure of something. Like, if there was something going on between her and Trent.

"So, he's a regular customer?" he asked.

"Yes. We have a lot medical books here. He is studying very hard to become a doctor." She replied.

"Oh? And how do _you_ know that?"

"H-he told me. We're sort of friends, I guess you can say."

"_Just friends_ right?"

"R-right."

"How long have you guy's been talking?"

"J-just a week ago."

"Really?"

"Y-yes. W-why are you acting so strange? This isn't really like you." Mary did not feel comfortable with him interrogating her. She thought it was very odd of him. "Does it bother you that I am friends with him?"

"Ah, I...well, yeah."

"Why is that?"

"..."

"Gray?"

The boy took a deep breath, causing him to look down at the floor. He then looked at Mary, eyes filled with determination. Gray wanted to go to the library alone not just to say 'hi' to her, but to tell her something very important.

"Listen...can we go upstairs on the second floor? I want to talk to you alone."


End file.
